A firefighter's gloves must protect the firefighter against the hostile environment within which the firefighter works during the fighting of a fire. A firefighter's gloves must have abrasion and flame resistance, moisture resistance, and thermal resistance.
A problem has long existed in construction of a firefighter's glove. The glove must be waterproof. Therefore, a layer of waterproof or moisture barrier material must be a part of the glove. Customarily, the layer of waterproof or moisture barrier material is positioned as an insert within a glove shell which is abrasion and flame resistant. Within the insert of waterproof material is an insert of thermal barrier material. In many gloves of firefighters, in order to maintain the layer or insert of waterproof material without attachment holes, the layer of waterproof material has not been attached to any other layer within the firefighter's glove. A major problem exists in such an arrangement. When a firefighter's sweaty hand is withdrawn from the glove, one or both of the inserts or layers is usually withdrawn from the outer shell. When the firefighter attempted to again don the glove, it was necessary to spend time reworking the inserts or layers back into the glove. Of course this type of situation is objectionable.
Stitching means and methods are considered best in attaching together layers in a firefighter's glove. Attempts have been made to attach the inserts or inner layers to the outer shell by stitching means. Stitching has been employed to attach a moisture barrier layer or insert to an outer shell of a glove. However, in the past, known stitching means has created holes within the moisture barrier layer. Holes permit water to enter the moisture barrier layer. Therefore, with such problems considered, stitching has not been a suitable method of attaching a moisture barrier layer to the outer shell.
Some firefighters' gloves have had the moisture barrier insert or layer adhesively attached to the outer shell. However, in firefighting conditions, such adhesive attachment has been short-lived and has not been effective.
Another attempt to provide a waterproof firefighter's glove has resulted in a glove in which the moisture resistant insert was provided with a nipple on the end of each finger of the insert. The nipple was stitched to the outer shell, with the inner liner or thermal insert glued to the moisture resistant insert. However, such attachment means was short-lived, and the problem was not solved.
In another attempt to solve the problem, the waterproof or moisture barrier insert or layer was turned inside-out and a nipple thereon wa stitched to the inner thermal layer, with the thermal barrier layer within the moisture barrier layer. Then the moisture barrier insert or layer was glued to the outer shell. However, this structure has not been effective, and the problem not solved.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,257 shows a glove structure in which a tab of plastics material extends outwardly from an opening within a moisture barrier layer. A thermal barrier layer is within the moisture barrier layer. A part of the tab which is within the moisture barrier insert is attached to a thermal barrier layer. The tab extends outwardly from the moisture barrier insert and is attached to the outer shell. The moisture barrier layer is sealed at the opening therein, so that the opening is closed, and the tab is sealingly attached to the moisture barrier layer. Thus, the tab attaches together the inner layer, the moisture barrier layer and the outer shell. However, leakage problems and other problems have existed in this structure.
It is an object of this invention to provide a firefighter's glove which is waterproof.
It is another object of this invention to provide such a firefighter's waterproof glove in which there is a moisture barrier layer and a thermal barrier layer within a flame resistant shell and in which the layers and the shell are secured together without permitting entrance of water into the moisture barrier layer.
It is another object of this invention to provide a firefighter's glove in which stitching is employed in attaching a moisture barrier layer to an outer shell of the glove. Thus, the preferred method of attachment (stitching) is employed while maintaining a waterproof glove.
It is another object of this invention to provide such a firefighter's waterproof glove which can be produced at relatively low costs and which is long-lived.
Other objects and advantages of this invention reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof, the method of production and the mode of use as will become more apparent from the following description.